So, this weekend I was in PARIS! Holy crêpe, it was beautiful. We left Friday morning and took the Eurostar from St. Pancras Station and arrived in Paris that afternoon and walked straight to our hostel to drop our bags. Having such a great hostel experience in Edinburgh, I was very optimistic for this trip, but was disappointed by the place when we got there. Note to anyone looking for a hostel in Paris- wouldn’t recommend Le Regent Montmartre. But we weren’t there to be in our room, we were there to explore the city! And that’s what we did.
First on the agenda for Friday was Musée D’Orsay. They had some beautiful Monet’s and Van Gogh’s, as well as stunning pieces of art from artists I wasn’t familiar with. The museum itself was beautiful too. Honestly, everything in Paris was just beautiful so that’s that. Next up we went to the Louvre the structure itself was super cool, and inside was like a maze- felt like I could easily gotten lost in there. Of course, we saw the Mona Lisa, which was pretty cool other than the fact that there was about a hundred people crowded around it trying to get a selfie with it. By this point, it was 8pm and we were very hungry (we hadn’t been able to have a food break all day) so we wandered around and ended up stopping at this amazing French restaurant right across from Sainte-Chapelle, Les Deux Palais. I got beef ribsteak and a glass of rose that was honestly so amazing. Also, one thing I love about Paris is all the BREAD. Just like unlimited bread everywhere you eat. Amazing. However, downside to french dining, the waiters have no care in the world about time. We always had to set aside a large amount of time to eat just because we knew it would take at least 30 minutes to even get the check after asking for it. But for the food there, it was well worth it. We then wandered down a street and found a creperie and I got the best strawberry Nutella crepe I’ve ever had. We then took the metro back to the hostel for a good nights sleep. Side note- the metro in Paris is real weird. First of all, some of these entrance signs really look like they came straight from a haunted house. It also kinda smells like pee underground. But hey, it’s a good way to get around.
Saturday we had croissants at the hostel before heading with the whole group to tour Sainte-Chapelle. Usually we would tour Notre Dame, but alas, we obviously can't do that now. Well turns out, we couldn't do Saint-Chapelle either. We got in line, had our tickets, but security wouldn't let us through. Why? Because we were a group. Weird, but oh well. So that was our morning outing gone, so we actually went to Notre Dame just to look at it from a distance outside and discuss its history and potential future. We then took the metro to the Eiffel Tower. When we walked up and first saw it between two really cute buildings and trees, everyone literally was just like "wow". For a very large structure that really doesn't have much of a point, it sure is pretty. We then had the rest of the day free to do whatever we wanted, so I went with a group to climb the Eiffel Tower. After waiting in line for a hot minute to get tickets, we then took to the stairs. Do you know how many stairs it takes to get to the second level of the Eiffel Tower? 674. SIX HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FOUR STEPS. I didn't feel so bad about all the bread I ate after that. So yeah, my legs were burning by the time we reached the top, but the view was so worth it. After being in awe for a little while, we started our descent to the ground, and were then on the hunt for somewhere to eat. We ended up finding a cute cafe nearby where we ordered a cheese board to share and some creme brûlée. Delicious. We then had some wine on the lawn next to the Eiffel Tower, and then got a couple macarons from Lauduree (which were also delicious). That night, we got drinks and went up to Sacre Coeur to see the city skyline at night as the Eiffel Tower lit up.
Sunday, we woke up early and got to the catacombs at 9am. They don't open until 10, but I read online that you can be waiting around 3 hours in line if you get there when it opens. So we queued up an hour before it opened and we got in at 10:15! That was honestly the best way to do it. We also went to the best bakery across the street to pick up breakfast and eat it in line (2 of us would go get food at a time while 4 others stayed to keep our place in line). It was called Le Pain Au Naturel and it was AMAZING. As soon as I walked inside, the smell of fresh baked pastries was the best thing I've ever smelled. Well I got 2 things because I just couldn't choose - a chocolate chip spiral croissant thing, and some short bread pastry thing with cream cheese and fruit on top. It. Was. So. Good. Well then we went inside the catacombs and that was so cool! It was insane to learn about all the history and just walk through these tunnels intricately lined with the bones of like 6 million dead Parisians. You could say it was...bone chilling. So yeah after that, we went back towards the Eiffel Tower to hop on a Seine river boat tour. It was a nice and relaxing way to see Paris at the end of our trip. By the time that was finished, we found something to eat and then headed back towards the hostel to grab our bags and head back to London.
Overall I had a great weekend! Would I want to live in Paris? No, probably not. I much prefer staying in London long term. But it was the perfect place for a little weekend getaway. Now back to classes tomorrow... Check out my photos from this weekend below, and stay tuned for my next update!
Comments